JEFFERSON CITY — Recent statistics show seven out of 10 children in safety seats are not properly buckled up, and that 70 percent of teens killed in Missouri traffic crashes in 2013 were not wearing a seat belt. Senator Joseph Keaveny, D-St. Louis, is encouraging parents to ensure they teach their children about the importance of buckling up.
“When I see statistics that state the majority of our children and teens are not being properly buckled up or are not buckling up at all, I can’t help but wonder how many of them would still be here today if they had just taken two seconds to buckle up properly. It’s heartbreaking,” Sen. Keaveny said. “I encourage parents of younger children to educate themselves and start educating their children at a young age.”
A good educational tool for parents and educators is www.seatcheck.org/. On this website, adults can find a variety of information from child safety seat requirements to laws specific for each state.
Senator Keaveny is also encouraging local high schools to take part in this year’s “Battle of the Belt,” a statewide competition between Missouri high schools to promote the use of safety belts among teens.
“The Battle of the Belt challenge is a great tool to make safety belt usage and roadway safety education fun and engaging for our students,” said Sen. Keaveny. “If the program can help save even one young life, then every school should participate.”
Sponsored by the Missouri Coalition for Roadway Safety, the challenge is comprised of two surprise seat belt checks at each participating high school to measure student safety belt use before and after an educational campaign on the importance of buckling up. Each school will also have a chance to enter a 30-second video spot aimed at promoting seat belt use among their peers. The competition will run from Oct. 1 to Nov. 19.
Two regional awards of $500 each will be given to the schools achieving Highest Overall Seat Belt Use and Most Improved Seat Belt Use. Statewide recognition will be awarded with a banner for safety belt use rates of gold (99-100 percent), silver (95-98 percent) or bronze (91-94 percent). Finally, the top three winning video spots will receive additional funding to further seat belt education.
High schools can join the competition by completing the participation agreement form online at www.modot.org, under the Safety tab, before Sept. 26. |
